Crazy Ride
by acegg11
Summary: Casey Novak was just hired back by the DA's office when the past comes back to haunt her in the form of her fifteen year old daughter with Charlie.
1. News

**A/N: This is an A/U story starting during Season 12 (2011) before Elliot left and when both Casey and Alex made appearances as ADA. The premise is similar to Life Unexpected. Thanks for reading.**

Chapter One: News

"Can I help you?" Casey asked, looking at the girl waiting in front of her office.

If the girl was waiting for her, she was probably a victim. She wasn't acting like a victim though. Her green eyes were clear and she met Casey's gaze levelly. No fear. No nerves.

"I just need your signature," Ally said.

"Let's go into my office," Casey suggested, unlocking her office door. She sat down behind her desk. "What do you need me to sign?

Ally pulled a folder out of her backpack and handed it to Casey wordlessly.

Casey opened the folder, frowning when she saw what was in it. "Petition for emancipation. Why do you need _my_ signature? I'm the ADA for sex crimes. You need a judge to sign off on a petition for emancipation."

"I know that." Ally sounded annoyed. "But if I don't get your signature, the judge will never sign off on it." She pointed to the signature line impatiently.

Casey looked at the signature line and shook her head. "No, that's where the biological mother needs to sign."

"Unless there's another Casey Novak out there somewhere, you are my biological mother. Did you have a kid fifteen years ago?" Ally said slowly, as if Casey didn't have a firm grasp of the English language.

All of the color drained from Casey's face. She _did_ have a kid fifteen years ago - a girl. She took a minute to recover from the shock – or at least to recover enough to think. When she did, wide eyes gave the girl a once over. The girl had her dark green eyes, but the golden blonde hair and pale yellow-gold skin was all Charlie.

"I don't look like you," Ally said, feeling Casey's eyes on her. "I must look like Charles? I do have this." She pulled her birth certificate out of her backpack and put it on top of the petition on Casey's desk. "I'm not getting a DNA test. I don't like needles."

"No tattoos then?" Casey said, using humor to hide how uncomfortable she was with the situation.

Ally didn't smile. "Look, I don't want anything from you. I just need your signature."

Casey swallowed. "How'd you find me?"

Ally shrugged. "It wasn't hard. You're in the newspaper often enough."

Casey raised an eyebrow. She didn't know many fifteen year olds who read the paper. "You read the paper?"

"I Googled you," Ally said. "Newspaper articles came up."

"Anything interesting?" Casey tried to sound nonchalant.

"Maybe. If I were actually interested in getting to know you." Casey hadn't wanted her, and Ally felt a perverse pleasure when she saw a brief flicker of hurt on Casey's face.

"You just want my signature," Casey said, sounding disappointed.

Why would Casey be disappointed? She didn't want Ally when she was born. What could she possibly want from Ally now? Ally started pacing. It was the first sign of nervous energy. "I don't _want_ your signature. I _need_ your signature. You think I really want to be here right now?"

"No," Casey said softly.

"So are we going to stand here all day or are you going to sign?" Ally _really_ didn't want to be there, face to face with the woman who didn't want her. She just wanted to get Casey's signature and get out.

Casey glanced at the completed petition, looking for her daughter's name. Allison. Allison Baker. She had Charlie's last name. She would have a different last name if she'd been adopted.

How could this have happened? There were waiting lists to adopt babies and they were long. Casey thought for sure her daughter would have been adopted. She wanted her daughter to grow up with a mom and dad that loved her.

Even after she was assigned to the Special Victims Unit and saw firsthand the horrors of the foster care system, Casey never thought her daughter would be in foster care.

"Allison-"

"Ally," Ally corrected.

"Ally." Casey studied the girl. "What happened? Why are you petitioning for emancipation?"

"Why do you care?" Ally retorted, her expression closing off instantly.

"Answer the question," Casey said softly, needing to know if her daughter's foster parents had hurt her. If they had, it was her fault. She already felt guilty. The answer to the question had the potential to make her feel even worse, but she had to know.

"It's none of your business," Ally said flatly.

"Well, it is if you want me to sign." Casey looked at the girl pointedly.

Ally narrowed her eyes at Casey in speculation. "If I answer the question, you'll sign?"

Casey shrugged noncommittally. "I'll think about it." The only thing she had to think about was what she _was_ going to do. She wasn't going to sign - at least not a legal signature. If she had to, she could sign it without a notary present to placate Ally and buy herself more time to think.

That wasn't what Ally wanted to hear, and she glared at Casey.

"Look at it this way – if you don't answer the question, there's no way I'm signing," Casey told her, trying to get her to talk.

"You know what? Forget it. If you won't sign it, I'll just have to do this without any help from you." Ally took the petition from Casey and put it back in the folder. She picked her backpack up.

She was going to leave and Casey couldn't let that happen.

"Wait," Casey said, standing up. "If your foster parents are hurting you, you need to tell me. I can help."

"It's not like that," Ally said quickly. "I'm not one of your cases."

"You're more than that," Casey told her quietly.

"No, I'm not. I asked you to do one thing and you wouldn't do it. It's the only thing I've ever asked you to do – the only thing I will ever ask you to do. If I really meant so much to you, you would sign," Ally said, sounding angry and hurt.

Knowing full well that her signature wouldn't be legal if it wasn't notarized, Casey sighed and picked up her pen. "Let me see that again." Casey signed the petition and gave it back to Ally.

"Thanks," Ally said slowly, confused as to what had changed that Casey was willing to sign it all of a sudden. "Do you know where I can find Charles?"

"Stay away from him," Casey said forcefully. She didn't want him anywhere near their daughter. That was the main reason she didn't keep the baby in the first place. Charlie attacked Casey. Who knew what he would do to their daughter?

"I wish I could, but I need his signature," Ally said.

"He's sick," Casey blurted out. "He's schizophrenic. He attacked me when he was off his medication. I'm serious. Stay away from him."

"I should go." Ally said, annoyed that Casey thought she had any right to tell her what to do.

"You don't have to go. We could get breakfast," Casey suggested.

"I have to go," Ally said.

"Where do you have to go? It's summer," Casey pointed out.

"I have to go to work," Ally told her.

"Work?" Casey's brow furrowed. "You're fifteen."

"I'm almost sixteen," Ally corrected.

"Not until next week," Casey said, and Ally looked surprised. "What? I know when your birthday is. I was there – for fourteen hours of labor, might I add. It's not something you forget."

Ally shifted uncomfortably. "I have to go to work. I'm gonna be late."

Casey gave Ally one of her business cards. "Here, take my card. Call me if you need anything."

It wasn't hard for Casey to get her hands on Allison Baker' case file. ACS didn't bat an eye when the ADA for the Special Victims Unit asked for a copy of a child's case file.

Ally had been in seven different foster homes in fifteen years. No wonder she wanted to get emancipated.

Ally's current placement was a group home. She'd been moved to the group home after she ran away from her foster home. She'd barely been fourteen at the time.

The longest Ally had been in any one home was just under three years. She hadn't made it to three years because of behavioral problems – more specifically getting in a fight at school.

There were eleven years of report cards in the case file that showed that Ally was a good student in spite of a few unexcused absences.

Ally's medical records were mixed in with her academic records. There were no broken bones or other major medical issues. As a toddler, Ally had frequent ear infections. When she had an ear infection as a baby, she cried all night – literally all night. It was why none of her placements lasted long when she was younger.

Well, that and the medical history that Casey had provided. At the time, Casey just thought that if they knew the biological father had schizophrenia, they could help her daughter if she had it. Instead, it had been an indelible black mark in Ally's file.

Just from the case file it didn't seem like Ally had been abused, but that didn't necessarily mean anything.

Ally had flat-out refused to tell Casey why she was applying for emancipation. And she had been awfully quick to respond when Casey asked if her foster parents were hurting her.


	2. Found

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews! I'm glad you enjoyed the first chapter. **

Chapter Two: Found

"You were right," Olivia said, making eye contact with Casey as she walked into the squadroom.

"Right about what?" Casey asked. She was really hoping she was wrong about Ally's group home.

"The group home," Elliot said, and Casey had a sinking feeling in her stomach. "There were two kids locked in the basement with no lights on. One of them has a black eye. We've got a problem though. They're not talking without their foster sister, Allison Baker."

"And she's nowhere to be found," Olivia said.

Casey inhaled. "Ally."

Olivia whipped her head around to look at Casey and narrowed her eyes, wondering what Casey wasn't telling them.

Elliot looked at Casey quizzically. They hadn't used the girl's nickname.

Casey hesitated. "I- talked to her this morning."

"That's why you asked us to check out the group home?" Elliot said.

Casey nodded, hoping he would leave it at that.

"Well, did she say anything about where she was going?" Olivia asked logically.

"Just that she was going to work," Casey answered, trying to think of where Ally could be. Of course, it would help if she knew Ally.

"Let's see if Evan knows where his foster sister works." Elliot started walking back to the children's interview room, and Olivia and Casey followed him.

There were two kids in the room. Evan was thirteen years old and wasn't happy at all about being in a room with Crayons and stuffed animals. He was sitting with his arms crossed. Sofia was four years old. She was sitting next to Evan, talking non-stop, but she stopped talking and looked at the detectives and the ADA warily when they walked into the room.

Evan looked up. "Well, if it isn't Casey Novak?" He smiled. "I've read all about you."

Casey grimaced. "The newspaper articles?"

"You probably feel guilty about giving your kid up so you help other people's kids," Evan said, sounding accusatory.

Elliot frowned, confused by the conversation. "What's he talking about?"

Olivia shrugged. "Beats me."

"They don't know?" Evan said.

Casey glared at him. "Give us a minute."

Casey stepped out into the hallway and waited for the detectives to follow her. She was not looking forward to this conversation, but if she didn't tell them about Ally, Evan would.

Casey sighed, having no choice but to tell them. "I had a kid with my fiancé, Charlie. It's Ally. She's my daughter."

Elliot's brow furrowed. "Wait a minute, are you saying that Allison Baker's your daughter?"

Casey nodded. "Charlie was off his medication and he attacked me. The next week I found out I was pregnant. I was afraid that he would hurt the baby."

"So you gave her up for adoption," Olivia said quietly.

"Only she wasn't adopted," Casey muttered.

Olivia sighed, not knowing what to say.

"I didn't know if I could do it by myself," Casey said, her voice cracking. "I couldn't help Charlie. I thought I could, but I couldn't. And what if our kid was a schizophrenic?"

"Casey," Olivia said sympathetically.

"You said you talked to her this morning?" Elliot said.

"She's petitioning for emancipation. She needed my signature," Casey told him.

"She's fifteen. That's crazy." Elliot frowned. He was trying to imagine the twins living alone with no supervision. It was a scary thought.

"Did you sign it?" Olivia asked.

"Not a legal signature," Casey assured them. "I signed it to buy myself some time, but it wasn't a notarized signature so it won't hold up in court."

Olivia looked up suddenly. "Casey, she needed your signature."

"She needs Charlie's too," Elliot said, knowing what his partner was thinking.

"I told her to stay away from him," Casey said.

Elliot couldn't help but laugh. "And you think she listened?"

"I told her that he attacked me," Casey said.

"Yeah, well, he'll probably attack her too if he's off his medication," Elliot said bluntly.

"We've gotta find her before she finds him," Olivia said softly.

They went back into the children's interview room.

"Evan," Olivia said, sitting down opposite the boy. "We're hoping you can help us."

"We're looking for Ally," Elliot said.

"Well, she's not in here," Evan said, being difficult on purpose.

"We think she's looking for her biological father." Olivia looked at Evan, watching his reaction carefully.

Evan nodded at Casey. "Why don't you ask her where he is? He's her baby daddy."

"I don't know where he is." Casey glared at him, unable to believe the nerve of the kid.

"Evan, we think Ally could be in danger," Olivia said softly.

"You don't want anything to happen to your foster sister, do you?" Elliot said.

"No. Of course not." Evan sounded indignant.

"Okay, then you'll help us," Olivia said smoothly. "If you know where she is, you need to tell us."

"I don't know where she is." Evan seemed genuinely worried about his foster sister. "But I have her cell phone number. You can use that to find her, can't you?"

"Yes," Elliot said immediately.

Ally took her cell phone out of her pocket and looked at the display. She didn't recognize the number so she silenced it. She put her phone back in her pocket and knocked on the door.

After three incredibly awkward conversations with men who were not related to her, Ally was at the address of the fourth of nine Charles Bakers living in New York City.

"Hello?" A woman opened the front door of the brownstone, smiling pleasantly at Ally.

Ally shifted uncomfortably. "Hi. Um, I'm looking for someone. Charles Baker?"

Judging by the woman's pearl necklace, matching pantsuit, and the fact that the woman was in her early fifties, Ally didn't think she would find her father here either. The woman's husband would be too…old.

With her luck, her father would be at the last address she checked.

"Why are you looking for him?" Sue looked at Ally curiously.

"I'm, uh, looking for my biological father," Ally said awkwardly.

Sue gaped at her. "Your biological father? Who's your mother?"

"Casey Novak," Ally answered.

"Ohmigod," Sue said, staring at Ally.

"What?" Ally narrowed her eyes.

Maybe, just maybe, she'd found the illusive Charles Baker – the one who knocked Casey Novak up fifteen years ago.

"My son," Sue managed. "Charlie. He was engaged to Casey Novak."

"Your son," Ally repeated slowly, trying not to get her hopes up. "Well, where is he? Is he here?"

"He's not here. God, you look just like him," Sue said, still staring at Ally. "Come in, please."

Ally followed the woman into the living room cautiously.

"I'm Sue, by the way," Sue introduced herself.

"Ally," Ally said, looking around.

"Your mother never told Charlie about you," Sue said with a hint of anger in her voice.

Ally glanced at Sue, trying to figure out what to say. "Well, uh, she didn't keep me."

"Didn't keep you?" Sue repeated, dumbfounded.

"I'm in foster care," Ally explained. "That's actually why I'm here. I'm applying for emancipation. I really need Charles' - Charlie's signature. Do you know where I can find him?"

Sue opened her mouth to answer, but a man in his mid-fifties with graying hair came in before she could.

"Sorry I'm late," Charles said, loosening his tie. He stopped in his tracks when he saw Ally. "Who's this?"

"Well, apparently she's our granddaughter," Sue said.

Charles glanced at Ally with suspicion in his eyes. "What?"

"Casey is her mother," Sue said bitterly.

"Did Charlie know about this?" Charles asked.

Sue shook her head. "No."

"You're sure?" Charles seemed skeptical.

"Charles, he would have told us." Sue sounded certain.

"Yeah, he would've needed money," Charles muttered cynically.

Sue looked at Ally. "If we had known, we would have…"

"Would have what?" Ally asked.

"We would have raised you," Charles said, as if it was a foregone conclusion. "Charlie couldn't have taken care of you. He can't even take care of himself."

Ally didn't quite know what to say. She could have had a family.

"If you could just tell me where I could find him…" Ally said finally, knowing it would only upset her to think about what could have been.

"Hell if we know," Charles said.

"Let's see, the last time we saw him must have been about six months ago," Sue murmured.

"When he needed money to pay Smokey McPot," Charles said, shaking his head at his oldest son's antics.

Ally snickered. "Smokey McPot?"

"Yeah. He's been higher than a kite the last few times we've seen him. He took the law degree I paid for and did nothing with it," Charles said in a disapproving tone. "Who knows what kind of man he would be today if he'd only known about you?"

"Who needs rehab when you can just have a kid?" Ally quipped.

Charles shot her a look, unsure whether to be amused or angry.

"Last time he came over he took a cab from Central Park," Sue said suddenly, ignoring Ally's comment. She was used to it. Charlie had the same dry sense of humor.

"Do you have a picture of him?" Ally asked.

Sue went into the other room and came back with a picture of Charlie. The picture was taken at Christmas - after Charlie had cleaned up. He'd shown up looking like he hadn't showered or shaved in days.

Ally took the picture and looked at it. "Can I keep this?"

"Yes, of course," Sue said indulgently.

"Thank you." Ally moved toward the door, holding onto the picture.

"You're welcome here anytime," Charles told her.

It was getting late when Ally got to Central Park and the only people there were homeless, druggies, or drug dealers.

One of the drug dealers recognized Charlie from the picture. He told Ally who Charlie was – for twenty dollars. He pointed out a man who was sitting on a bench.

Ally approached the man cautiously. She didn't know if he was really her father. It wasn't like drug dealers were known for their honesty.

The man looked so different from the man in the picture. He had long greasy hair that needed to be washed and a beard.

It was hard to believe he was related to Sue and Charles Baker.

It was hard to believe he was related to her.

"Charlie?" Ally said finally, and the man looked up at her.


	3. Stubborn

**A/N: As always I appreciate the reviews! **

**Feyzel – I know that Ally wouldn't need Casey's signature, but I got that idea from the show Life Unexpected. I also don't know how realistic it is for a judge to give Casey custody of a child she gave up her rights to, but that is what will happen and soon. After that, I'm going to try to keep everything that happens in this story within the realm of possibility. I'm glad you like my writing. Thanks for reading. **

Chapter Three: Stubborn

"Are you Charlie Baker?" Ally asked.

Charlie looked at her with wide, wild eyes. "How do you know my name? Who are you?"

So he _was_ her father. Ally was kind of hoping it was all a big joke and the drug dealer was off watching this somewhere and laughing. No such luck.

"Uh, this is awkward," Ally said, laughing nervously. "I'm your daughter."

"I know who you are," Charlie said suddenly, shocking her. "You're with them!"

Ally frowned in confusion. "With who?"

"They sent you." Charlie stood up and looked around frantically. "Where are they? I know they're here. I can hear them."

"I don't know what you're smoking, but there's no one else here," Ally told him.

"Liar!" Charlie said, raising his voice.

"Look, no one sent me, okay? I just need your signature and then I'll leave you and your imaginary friends alone." Ally opened her backpack to pull the folder out.

Charlie saw the movement and lunged at her, knocking her down to the ground. Ally's head hit the sidewalk and she winced in pain. She tried to get up, but Charlie's dirty hands closed around her throat, choking her.

Ally couldn't breathe. Everything went dark.

When Ally woke up, she didn't know where she was.

Ally looked around, trying to figure out where she was. Her temples were throbbing and she instantly regretted moving her head. She did see enough to know she was in the hospital. She just didn't know _why_ she was in the hospital.

"Is she awake?" A high-pitched voice that hurt Ally's head asked. It was Sofia. She was peering at Ally from Olivia's lap.

"Yeah, sweetie, she is," Olivia told her.

Casey sat up straight in her chair, sighing in relief. Ally had been unconscious since they found her lying on the sidewalk in Central Park - and that was hours ago.

"I'll go get the doctor. You stay here," Olivia said quietly.

Sofia scrambled off of Olivia's lap. Before anyone realized what she was doing, the four year old was climbing up on top of Ally.

"Sofia, don't!" Olivia tried to stop her, but it was too late. Sofia was already settling comfortably on top of Ally.

Ally was glad Sofia was comfortable because she definitely wasn't. She winced. Her whole body hurt.

Casey watched in horror, grimacing sympathetically.

Olivia sighed and exchanged a look with Casey before going to get the doctor.

"You're hurting her," Evan said, picking Sofia up and putting her down on the floor.

Sofia's bottom lip trembled. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Ally managed a reassuring smile for Sofia's benefit.

Sofia gave Evan a dirty look. "See?" She sounded almost triumphant. She turned back to Ally worriedly. "Are you okay?"

"I think so." Ally didn't sound too sure about that. She looked at Evan. "What happened?"

"You were hurt by a bad man. The police saved you." Sofia started talking before Evan could get a word in. "Your mommy's nice," Sofia added as an afterthought.

Ally frowned, confused. "My mom?" She thought that Sofia must mean their foster mom. "Mrs. Woodcock isn't our mom."

"She doesn't mean Mrs. Woodcock," Evan told her. "Casey's here."

Ally's first reaction was to be touched that Casey was there. And then she realized that if Casey was there and her foster brother and sister were there something must have gone horribly wrong.

"What? Why? What the hell happened?" Ally asked.

"It's nice to see you, too," Casey muttered.

Olivia came back in with the doctor and the doctor stood at the side of the bed with Ally's chart. "I'm Dr. Bailey. How are you feeling?"

"Confused?" Ally said.

Dr. Bailey smiled. "I meant physically."

"Like a linebacker used me as a tackle dummy," Ally said.

Dr. Bailey nodded. "You're going to be sore for a few days. How's your head?"

"It hurts," Ally told her.

"How bad does it hurt on a scale of one to ten?" Dr. Bailey asked.

"Um…eight," Ally answered slowly, like she had to really think about it.

Dr. Bailey made a note on her chart. "Can you describe the pain?"

"My whole head hurts. My temples are throbbing. It hurts to move," Ally said.

"Can you answer a few questions for me?" Dr. Bailey asked.

"Depends on what they are," Ally quipped.

"What's your name?" Dr. Bailey already knew her name, but she wanted to see if Ally's memory was affected.

"Ally," Ally replied.

"Can you tell me your full name?" Dr. Bailey prompted.

"Allison Baker," Ally muttered.

"Do you know what day it is?" Dr. Bailey asked.

"Monday," Ally said, but it was obvious she had to think about it and she still wasn't sure.

"Do you recognize the people in this room?" Dr. Bailey asked.

"Evan is my foster brother and Sofia is my foster sister," Ally told her. She looked at Olivia uncertainly. "I don't know who she is."

Olivia smiled at her. "I'm Detective Benson."

Great...a cop. She was probably with Casey. Ally had to physically turn her head to be able to see Casey. As soon as she did, she remembered why she'd been trying not to move. She rubbed her head. "She's…my biological mother."

Dr. Bailey looked at Ally quizzically, unsure if she was slow to respond because she didn't remember Casey, or because of Casey's relationship to her.

"She knows who I am." Casey sounded very sure of the fact. Ally wouldn't have reacted the way she did when Evan told her that Casey was there if she didn't know who Casey was.

"Okay." Dr. Bailey could sense the tension in the room and decided to move on. "Do you remember my name?" Dr. Bailey smiled, testing Ally's short-term memory.

"No." Ally had the good grace to look sheepish. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Dr. Bailey assured her. She nodded at Olivia. "What about her? Do you remember her name?"

"Detective…Detective…" Ally tried to come up with the name and drew a blank.

"See? Now I don't feel bad. It's not just me," Dr. Bailey teased. "What's the last thing you remember?"

"Um…I was at my, uh, my grandparents." Ally tried to remember their names. "Charles and…oh, it starts with an S. Sharon? No, that's not right."

Dr. Bailey glanced at Casey, the only person in the room who would know their names.

"Sue," Casey supplied, trying to stay calm when all she wanted to do was go over there and give Charlie's parents a piece of her mind.

"Ally, you were found in Central Park," Olivia told her. "You don't remember what you were doing there?"

"Central Park?" Ally frowned. "No. I wouldn't have been in Central Park. I was – I was looking for my biological father. I need his signature. Why would I have been in Central Park?"

Olivia and Casey exchanged a look. "It's okay. Don't worry about it," Olivia said gently.

"What? Is that wrong?" Ally sounded worried.

"It's not wrong if that's what you remember," Olivia told her.

"Ally, you have a concussion. You were unconscious for a few hours. You're going to be sore for a few days, maybe longer. You're going to have to take it easy. We're keeping you here overnight," Dr. Bailey explained as she checked Ally's vision and reflexes. "Do you have any questions?"

"Did you call my case worker?" Ally would never admit it, but she was scared and she wanted someone she liked and trusted.

"We'll take care of that," Olivia said.

"Well, I'll need to talk to her before I discharge Ally," Dr. Bailey told them.

"Okay," Olivia agreed.

"I'll be back to check on you later. Try and get some rest." Dr. Bailey looked around at Ally's visitors pointedly.

Ally waited until she left and then looked at Evan. She wanted to know what was going on. "What happened? Why are you and Sofia here and why is Casey here with a cop? Where's Ann?" She asked anxiously.

"Uh, Evan, why don't we let Casey handle that? We can go get something to eat in the cafeteria," Olivia suggested. "Come on, you haven't had anything to eat and we've been here for hours." Olivia ushered him and Sofia out of the room, leaving Casey and Ally alone.

Casey walked over to stand by Ally's bed so Ally could see her without moving her head. "You told me your foster parents weren't hurting you."

"They're not," Ally said.

Casey raised her eyebrows. "Detective Benson and Detective Stabler found Evan and Sofia locked in the basement. Evan has a black eye!"

"And the cops - they just happened to stop by today, the same day I asked you to sign the form?" Ally said sarcastically, not believing for one second that it was a coincidence.

"No, I asked them to check it out," Casey said, not feeling like she'd done anything wrong.

"I asked you for one thing. That's it. I just needed your signature. I didn't want your help, okay? You just made everything worse," Ally said.

"And how exactly did I do that?" Casey asked, a hard edge to her voice.

"The group home…it's okay. Mrs. Woodcock cashes the government checks and leaves us alone for the most part. It could be a lot worse," Ally told her.

"It won't be," Casey promised.

"You don't know that," Ally said. "You know, I don't even care where Ann places me next." Ally was more worried about Evan and Sofia. She knew they'd be okay at the group home. It certainly wasn't great, but she'd had worse and so had Evan. "It's not like I'll be there long. My emancipation hearing's next week."

"What if the judge doesn't sign off on your petition for emancipation?" Casey asked, curious to see what Ally's reaction would be.

"He will. Ann told me what I needed to do and I did it. I got a job. I found an apartment. I have money for the first few months' rent. I got the form signed," Ally said, knowing she'd done everything she could do.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Charlie didn't sign it," Casey informed her.

"You talked to him?" Ally sounded surprised.

"No. You had the form on you when we found you," Casey told her. She hadn't talked to Charlie – at least not yet. Munch and Fin were looking for him.

"Did you go through my stuff?" Ally demanded angrily.

"You mean what was left of it after every homeless person in Central Park was done?" Casey retorted.

"My money. It was in my backpack." Ally sounded panic-stricken.

Casey frowned. "There was no money."

"None?" Ally looked like she was about to cry.

"How much did you lose?" Casey asked.

"Everything," Ally muttered. "My savings was in the pocket of my backpack. I had over three thousand dollars saved."

Casey stared at her incredulously. "You were walking around Central Park at night with three thousand dollars?" Was her kid stupid? That was just asking to be mugged.

"What was I supposed to do with it?" Ally said defensively. "They wouldn't let me open a bank account without a parent or guardian, and if my foster parents knew how much money I had, I wouldn't have it anymore."

"You _don't_ have it anymore," Casey pointed out.

Ally sat up slowly and tried to remove the IV from her arm, but Casey stopped her with a hand on her arm.

"Whoa, what are you doing?" Casey asked.

"I have to go. Maybe I can find my money. The bums – they might still have it," Ally said, sounding desperate.

"Or they already spent it on alcohol," Casey said pointedly. "_If_ there's anything left, the detectives will find it, but I wouldn't count on it."

"The detectives?" Ally said skeptically, not overly confident in the police.

Casey nodded. "They're looking for Charlie."

"What? Why?" Ally asked.

Casey stared at her in disbelief. "Because he attacked you."

Ally shook her head. "I don't want to press charges. I don't even know if he's the one who attacked me."

"Yeah, well, I do." Casey sounded somewhat condescending. She sighed. "That's why I told you to stay away from him."

Why couldn't Ally have just listened to her? This was exactly what Casey didn't want to happen.

Ally had bruising around her neck where he choked her. He could have killed her.

She was only fifteen.

She wasn't just another victim – not to Casey. She was hers.

"And I told you my foster parents weren't hurting me, but that didn't stop you from sending cops to the group home," Ally retaliated.

"Not listening must be genetic," Casey said.

Ally narrowed her eyes. "I'm nothing like you."

"You're right," Casey said dryly. "You take after Charlie. You're just as stubborn as him."

Ally raised her eyebrows. "Comparing me with the crazy homeless guy you want to charge with attacking me?" She said slowly. "I would be offended - if you knew me."

Casey knew Ally was right. She knew what was in Allison Baker's case file, but that was the extent of it. She didn't know where her daughter worked or what her daughter did in her free time. That was abundantly clear when they were trying to find her. She didn't know her daughter at all. And she wanted to.

The girl was just like Charlie _before_ he started showing signs of schizophrenia. Casey really loved him. He _was_ stubborn and so was their daughter – annoyingly so. That hadn't changed when he started having delusions. Unfortunately, all of his good qualities had all but disappeared. He lost his sense of humor. He went from always having something smart to say to not being able to string together a coherent sentence.

"You're right," Casey said finally.


	4. Guilt

**A/N: Thanks for reading! I'd appreciate any feedback you have on the characters. **

**I'm trying to keep the characters from the show in character, but please let me know if anyone is really out of character. I'm not sure how you feel about the original characters in this. Ally's not going anywhere, but I can take or leave any of the other original characters. **

Chapter Four: Guilt

"Now that you're awake, I'd like to ask you some questions," Olivia said once Evan and Sofia were fed.

Ally looked at Olivia, frowning slightly. "I already told you I don't remember what happened in Central Park."

"I know you don't. I'd like to ask you some questions about your foster parents," Olivia clarified.

"We're minors. You can't talk to us without a parent, or, in our case guardian," Ally said, looking at Casey pointedly.

"That would be true," Casey said slowly, "_If_ you were suspects."

"Yeah, which you're not." Olivia looked at Casey, wondering what she was playing at arguing with a victim – even if the victim happened to be her kid. "We're trying to help you," Olivia assured the kids.

"Yeah? Well, we don't need your help," Ally said.

"Ally, we found your foster brother and sister locked in the basement," Olivia said. "From where I'm standing, it looks like you do need help."

"Move then," Ally suggested.

Olivia sighed. She decided to move on to Evan. "Evan, how'd you get that black eye?"

"I already told you," Evan said, glaring at Olivia. "I got in a fight at school."

Olivia looked at him, not believing him for a minute. "Nice try, but it's summer."

"I meant with a kid from school," Evan amended.

"He's lying," Sofia said quietly.

Olivia looked at her in surprise. The little girl had been shy at first. She'd been warming up to Olivia and Casey slowly but surely, but Olivia never thought Sofia would go against her foster brother.

"Did you see what happened?" Olivia asked.

Sofia nodded solemnly. "Mr. Woodcock hit him. He's mean."

Olivia turned back to Evan. "Is that true?"

"I'm positive it's not." Evan couldn't keep a straight face.

Olivia rolled her eyes. "I know you're lying."

"You don't have any proof." Evan sounded more confident than he felt.

"We have Sofia," Olivia said.

Sofia looked scared. "Don't tell Mr. and Mrs. Woodcock I told you. They'll be mad."

"No one's going to be mad at you," Olivia assured her.

"They will," Sofia argued. "I don't want to go back to their house."

"You don't have to, honey," Olivia told her.

"Where are we going?" Sofia asked, assuming that wherever they went, they'd stay together. "Somewhere better, right?" She looked at Ally, as if the fifteen year old had all the answers.

"Maybe," Ally said, but she didn't sound very convincing.

"Maybe not," Evan scoffed. "We had a pretty good deal going until you messed it up for us because you couldn't keep your mouth shut."

Evan and Ally knew that however bad the group home was, there were worse foster homes out there. Sofia didn't know that – yet, but she'd find out soon enough.

"Evan," Olivia said in a disapproving tone.

"She didn't mess it up for us. Casey did," Ally said, glaring at Casey.

"Yeah, I'm such a bad person for getting you out of there," Casey said sarcastically.

"Maybe we didn't want to get out of there," Ally said, raising her voice.

Casey raised her eyebrows. "Oh really? That's why you asked me to sign your petition for emancipation? Because you wanted to stay there?"

"I wanted to stay there until I get emancipated," Ally muttered.

"Why would you want to go back there?" Olivia asked, genuinely wanting to know the answer.

"We've had worse foster homes. This one was okay. Sometimes the devil you know is better than the devil you don't," Ally told her.

"We're going to make sure that your next foster home is better," Olivia promised. "That goes for all of you."

"Don't make promises you can't keep," Ally said.

Olivia sighed. "It's after midnight. We should let you get some rest. Come on." Olivia smiled at Sofia and Evan. "You guys get to come back to the station with me."

Evan looked at her warily. "Why are we going to the police station?"

"Because it's late and ACS is closed." Olivia stopped at the door, looking back at Casey. "Casey? You want a ride?"

"Uh, no," Casey said uncertainly, looking at Ally. "Go ahead."

"You should go," Ally said. "Unless you just want to walk home."

"I'm staying here," Casey told her.

"You're staying here," Ally said slowly. "Why? To read me a bedtime story and tuck me in?" She scoffed.

Casey recoiled slightly, but stayed put. "I thought you might want some company."

Ally stared at Casey incredulously. "I've been alone for fifteen years. What makes tonight any different?"

"I didn't know-"

"Didn't know what?" Ally cut her off angrily. "That I'd be in a different foster home every other year? That I'd never stay in the same place long enough that it was worth it for me to make friends?"

"I didn't know you were never adopted," Casey said softly.

"How could you? You were too busy making headlines to give the daughter you never wanted a second thought," Ally said bitterly.

"That's not-"

"I don't want to hear your sob story. I'm not a fan of sad Lifetime movies," Ally said.

"What do you want me to say?" Casey asked, giving up.

"Nothing," Ally said. "I'm going to bed. If you want to stay, stay. Whatever helps you sleep better at night…"

Casey felt like she should stay - whether Ally wanted her there or not. Ally wouldn't even be in the hospital if it weren't for Charlie.

Charlie…

Casey thought she could help him. She tried. She really did. She should have tried harder. She could have done more. If she had, none of this would have happened.

They were engaged. They would be married right now – if he didn't have schizophrenia, or even if he just took his medication. They would be a family – him, her and Ally. Instead, she had an ex who would be arrested whenever the detectives finally caught up with him and a daughter who hated her. What a mess.

Her guilt kept Casey up most of the night. She woke up after a few hours of sleep, feeling like someone was watching her. She sat up slowly and looked around, wincing at the stiffness in her neck. That's what she got for sleeping in a chair all night.

Elliot _was_ watching her with a stupid smirk on his face. "I thought I would find you here," he said quietly, trying not to wake Ally up. He had two cups of coffee and he gave Casey one.

"For me? Thanks." Casey stifled a yawn.

"Munch and Fin found Charlie," Elliot told her.

"Okay," Casey said, not sure how she felt about that. She knew he wouldn't have attacked her or Ally if he'd been in his right mind, but that didn't change the fact that their daughter was in the hospital right now because of him.

"What are you going to do?" Elliot asked.

Casey sighed. "He doesn't belong in prison. He belongs in a hospital where he'll get the help he needs."

Elliot frowned. "No, not what are you going to do about the case. What are you going to do about Ally?"

"I don't know," Casey said, sounding conflicted.

"You don't know?" Elliot repeated. "She's your kid, Casey."

Casey looked at him pointedly. "Not legally."

"Look, I get it," Elliot started, and Casey looked at him skeptically. "I do. I get why you did what you did. Charlie shouldn't be anywhere near that kid."

Casey nodded, surprised by how understanding he was being.

"You'd be a good mom though," Elliot told her.

Casey had to laugh at that after the things Ally said to her last night. "Ally doesn't think so. She hates me."

Elliot smiled. "You'll grow on her."

"Like mold?" Casey said.

"She's fifteen and she's got no one." Elliot looked Casey in the eyes. "She needs you. You're the only parent she's got."

"The only sane one, you mean?" Casey quipped.

"I never said you were sane," Elliot deadpanned.

"Yeah, well, I'd have to be crazy to ask a judge to put her in my care," Casey told him. "I gave her up. I have no rights. This is such a mess and I can't clean it up. I can't fix it."

"So that's it? You're not even gonna try?" Elliot said, sounding judgmental.

There. That was the Elliot she knew. Unfortunately, Casey wasn't in the mood for this. She felt bad enough already. If she'd wanted his opinion, she would've asked for it. She didn't need a lecture from the father of five.

"I don't need a lecture from you. This is none of your business," Casey said in an annoyed tone.

"You asked us to check out the group home where your kid was living. That makes it my business," Elliot countered, not bothering to keep his voice down anymore.

Ally heard a man's voice and shot up, looking around. She saw Casey and a man wearing a suit and tie. She was kind of surprised Casey had stayed.

"What's going on?" Ally asked groggily.

Elliot turned around to face her. "You're up."

"I am now," Ally said unhappily. "You guys couldn't find anywhere better to talk than a hospital room with a sleeping patient?"

"Sorry," Elliot muttered.

"Detective Stabler was just leaving," Casey said, looking at Elliot pointedly.

"Another cop?" Ally said, sounding less than thrilled.

Elliot raised his eyebrows. "You don't like cops?"

"No," Ally said, smirking slightly, as if the very idea was hilarious.

"Any reason why? Elliot asked calmly.

"Two reasons," Ally said. "One – I've never heard of a cop helping anyone. Not where I come from. I mean, do you know how many kids are in foster care because of the police? Evan is. His mom was arrested."

Elliot frowned slightly. "For what?"

"Drugs," Ally said flatly. "And living with her is still better than foster care."

"What's the second reason?" Elliot asked quietly.

Ally smiled. "You do Casey's bidding."

Elliot shook his head, a smug look on his face. "I don't do anyone's bidding."

Ally raised her eyebrows. "Oh no? She asked you to check out the group home. Tell me, Detective, if Casey says jump, do you ask how high?"

Elliot snickered, too used to dealing with criminals to let one teenager get to him. "Cute kid."

"Yeah, she's adorable," Casey said sarcastically.


	5. My Case

**A/N: A short chapter to bring Alex into the story. I'll upload a longer chapter soon.**

Chapter Five: My Case

"Alex," Casey said, sitting up straight, on high alert. "What are you doing here?" Alex and Olivia showed up shortly after Elliot left.

"More cops?" Ally looked at Alex warily.

"She's not a cop," Casey said.

"Who is she?" Ally asked.

"Assistant District Attorney Cabot," Casey answered.

"Jack called me," Alex started.

"This is _my_ case," Casey said. There wouldn't even be a case if it weren't for her. She was the one who asked the detectives to check out the group home in the first place. One of the kids was her daughter.

"Casey, your daughter is one of the victims," Olivia said softly.

"Not legally." Casey would have said just about anything to stay on the case. She wanted to get justice for her daughter. She needed to do _something_ for her daughter.

"Casey." Olivia looked at Ally with wide eyes.

Ally shrugged it off. She struggled to keep her voice controlled. "It's okay. She gave me up when I was born. I mean nothing to her." Ally looked at Casey, fire in her eyes. "And she means nothing to me."

"That's not what I meant," Casey said, realizing how it must have sounded to Ally. "It's just that legally I have no rights to you. Legally Jack McCoy has no reason to take me off this case." The last part was more for Olivia and Alex than for Ally.

"Okay, but biologically Ally is your daughter and she's one of the victims," Olivia said.

"I'm _not_ a victim," Ally said, but everyone ignored her.

"You were also engaged to her assailant," Alex said, barely sparing Ally a glance. "If that's not a conflict of interest, I don't know what is."

"No one wants to win more than I do," Casey told them.

"That's funny. You didn't want your ex to pay when he attacked you," Olivia said, knowing Casey had used her badge to get Charlie off once before and would do it again.

Casey looked at Olivia, feeling betrayed. "You called the DA?"

"There's no way you're going to put your ex in a cell. I put in a request for an ADA who will," Olivia admitted.

Casey glared at her. "He's sick. He doesn't belong in a prison cell. He belongs in a hospital and you know it."

"Casey's right," Ally said, shocking Casey.

Casey raised her eyebrows. "I never thought I'd hear those words come out of your mouth."

"I don't want to press charges," Ally said. She may not remember what happened in Central Park, but she did remember her conversation with her grandparents. Charlie didn't know about her. He wasn't the one who gave her up. That was Casey. Charlie's parents would have taken her in. That meant something to her. She wouldn't help put her father in jail.

"That's not up to you. It's up to the District Attorney's office," Olivia told her.

Ally frowned. "I don't understand. I'm the one who was attacked."

"And the man that assaulted you needs to be punished," Alex said.

"He's a schizophrenic. He didn't know what he was doing." Casey sounded argumentative.

"He knows he's a schizophrenic and he chose to stop taking his medication," Alex countered.

"You don't know that he was the one who attacked me," Ally said.

Olivia glanced at her. "His hands match the bruises on your neck and the picture that your grandparents gave you was found on him."

"The case against Charles Baker Jr. is a slam dunk. Now, on the matter of the case against your foster parents…" Alex said, switching gears.

"There's no case because they didn't do anything," Ally cut her off.

"Well, according to your foster sister, they did," Olivia said.

"Here's what's going to happen. I will subpoena you to testify against them. You will be under oath. If you don't tell the truth, you will go to jail," Alex explained calmly.

"Is this really necessary?" Casey said, frustrated.

"It is if she refuses to answer our questions," Alex answered.

"This is exactly why I don't like cops," Ally said, just as frustrated as Casey. "I want my case worker and a lawyer while you're at it."

Alex nodded.

Olivia stepped out to call ACS. Casey followed her.

"You should have talked to me," Casey said angrily.

"Would you have listened?" Olivia asked, already knowing the answer. "Casey. Alex is a great prosecutor. She'll get justice for Ally."

Casey shook her head. "Threatening her isn't gonna work. She's stubborn, like Charlie."

Olivia frowned. "Stubborn enough to go to jail?"

Casey took a deep breath. "I gave Charlie an ultimatum – take his medication or leave. Now he's homeless."

"That's not your fault," Olivia told her.

"Yeah, it is," Casey said. "And now he's going to do time because of my office. I'm going to make damn sure Ally doesn't join him in a cell."


	6. On Trial

Chapter Six: On Trial

"Why'd you take me off the case?" Casey asked. She stood in Jack McCoy's office, somehow managing to sound accusatory even while she looked like a puppy that had been kicked.

Jack glanced up from his paperwork. "You know why."

"No. I don't," Casey said.

"Fine." Jack sat back in his chair. "You're off the case because the victim is your daughter."

"Biologically. Not legally. Legally you have no reason to take me off this case," Casey argued.

"I've already reassigned the case," Jack said, as if the matter was closed. To him, it was.

Casey nodded slowly. "To Alex."

"Yes, to Alex," Jack confirmed.

"She's going to put a mentally ill man in prison," Casey said in a disapproving tone.

"I'll tell you what she's going to do. She's going to get justice for a girl that was assaulted." Jack held up a finger. "By the same man who assaulted you. You abused the authority of this office so he wouldn't go to prison back then. I'm not going to let you do that again."

"He doesn't belong in prison," Casey said adamantly.

"That's not up to you," Jack told her.

"Alex won't be able to relate to Ally," Casey said, sounding desperate.

"Alex has been doing this longer than you have," Jack scoffed.

"Alex threatened her with jail time if she doesn't tell us what happened," Casey said, raising her voice slightly.

"If I remember correctly, you've made the same threat in your capacity as ADA. You're too emotionally involved," Jack said matter-of-factly.

"Ally is stubborn. Threatening her isn't going to work," Casey told him.

"That's Alex's problem. Not yours," Jack told her.

"Jack, I-"

"You're off the case," Jack cut her off, tired of arguing with her. "This is Alex's case now and you're going to let her handle it how she sees fit. Just because I hired you back don't think I won't fire you because I will. I'm going to say this one time – behave yourself, Casey. You abuse your authority as an ADA again and you won't just be censured. You'll be disbarred."

Casey bristled at that, but didn't say what she really wanted to say. She knew Jack well enough to know when to keep her mouth shut.

Casey left Jack's office, resigned to the fact that she couldn't use her badge to help Ally. She would have to find another way to help her.

There _was_ another way.

_If_ she could get a judge to appoint her as Ally's legal guardian – and that was a big if - Casey could help her daughter.

Casey knew everyone was waiting for her to do just that. Elliot had said it, but everyone was thinking it. Casey couldn't say that she herself hadn't thought about it, but she knew how hard it would be to convince a judge to put the daughter she gave up at birth into her care. And that was just the judge.

If she actually got custody, Casey had a feeling it would be even harder to convince Ally than it would be a judge. Ally hated her. Casey couldn't really blame her for that. Maybe Elliot was right and she'd grow on her daughter. Either way, Casey could do better than any of the foster parents she'd seen. At least she wouldn't lock her kid in the basement.

"I called your case worker. She's on her way here now," Olivia said as she walked back into Ally's hospital room.

"Where's Casey?" Ally asked. Casey followed Olivia out into the hallway earlier and Ally thought they'd come back together.

"She left," Olivia told her.

Ally tried to hide her disappointment, but failed. She didn't know why she was disappointed. She hadn't expected anything from Casey. After all, Casey had never done anything for her in her entire life. Ally just wanted her signature. She didn't think it was too much to ask of the woman who gave her up when she was born. She didn't expect Casey to come to the hospital and she certainly didn't expect Casey to stay there all night, and yet she was disappointed that Casey left.

Of course Olivia saw right through Ally's attempt to hide her emotions. The detective was good at reading people. She had to be in her job.

Olivia looked at Ally sympathetically. "I'm sure she'll be back soon."

"Why would she? I'm not one of her cases anymore." Ally glanced at Alex resentfully. She didn't want to be anyone's case, but she really didn't want to be Alex's case. She may have just met Alex, but she already knew she didn't like her.

Olivia looked at Ally, trying to make eye contact. "That's not why she was here."

"She couldn't get out of here fast enough when she found out it's not her case," Ally said bitterly.

"Whether it's her case or not, she didn't have to stay here last night," Olivia pointed out.

That made Ally think. She knew Olivia took Evan and Sofia to the police station. She raised her eyebrows. "Did you stay with Evan and Sofia?"

"Yes," Olivia answered softly.

"So you were both on babysitting duty," Ally said.

Olivia shook her head. "No."

Casey knew Judge Amy Turner.

It was rare, but Casey had on occasion tried teenagers as minors instead of adults. One of her cases had been assigned to Judge Turner in family court. She won the case.

Judge Turner was tough, but fair.

The judge was also a friend of Casey's mentor, Judge Mary Clark. It was thanks to a call from Mary that Judge Turner was seeing Casey on such short notice.

Casey squared her shoulders and walked into Judge Amy Turner's chambers. "Thank you for seeing me."

"Ms. Novak. I don't have any of your cases on my docket, at least not that I know of." Judge Turner looked at Casey curiously.

"No, Your Honor," Casey agreed. "This isn't about a case for SVU. You have an emancipation hearing on your docket next week. The child's name is Allison Baker."

Judge Turner rifled through her papers. "Yes, I do. What's your interest in that hearing?"

"Allison is my biological daughter," Casey replied.

The judge raised her eyebrows, taken aback. "Oh?"

"I met Charles Baker Jr. when I was in law school. We were engaged. He started acting strange. He was diagnosed with schizophrenia. He attacked me when he was off his medication." Casey gave the judge a copy of the police report – the same report Olivia had given Jack after she threw the Picard case.

Judge Turner skimmed the report. She looked up at Casey when she was done reading.

"I broke off the engagement. The next week I found out I was pregnant. I was afraid that he would hurt the baby," Casey started.

"He wouldn't have been able to if you'd pressed charges," Judge Turner pointed out.

Casey nodded, hoping that her perceived mistake wouldn't end up costing her Ally. "I made my decision. I gave the baby up for adoption. She was never adopted. She's a ward of the state. She's been in the foster care system for fifteen years."

"So she's fifteen?" Judge Turner said.

"She'll be sixteen next week. Her birthday is on August 23rd," Casey replied. "She's fifteen and she's been in seven different foster homes."

"That's a lot," Judge Turner commented. "Any reason why?"

"She has had some behavioral problems. Getting in a fight at school. Unexcused absences." Casey gave the judge Ally's case file. "Here, see for yourself."

Judge Turner looked at the file. "Good grades. I would expect no less with two parents who attended Harvard Law."

Casey smiled.

"She ran away when she was fourteen," Judge Turner said in a disapproving tone.

Casey nodded. "Yes, Your Honor."

"Casey. If you're here to ask me to sign off on her petition for emancipation, I'm sorry…"

"I know you can't do that. That's not what I'm asking," Casey said quickly.

Judge Turner looked at Casey curiously. "What are you asking then?"

"SVU detectives removed her and two other children from the last group home of record," Casey started.

Judge Turner frowned. "Why?"

"They were found locked in the basement. There was evidence of abuse," Casey replied.

"What kind of evidence?" Judge Turner asked.

"One of the kids has a black eye," Casey told her. "Allison needs a guardian. Your Honor, I'm asking that you appoint me as her legal guardian."

Judge Turner looked at her in surprise. "You gave up your parental rights."

Casey sighed. "I know." She took a deep breath and stood up straighter, not ready to give up yet. "Whether I have parental rights or not is not the issue here. I am her biological mother. What other options are there for her? Another foster home or group home?"

"You think you are a better option than foster parents who have been approved by the state?" Judge Turner sounded skeptical.

Casey looked the judge in the eyes. "Yes, Your Honor."

"Foster parents are required to pass background checks and home inspections. They provide bank statements, character references, and medical histories," Judge Turner said.

"Then why did the state approve Allison Baker's foster parents?" Casey said, and it sounded like she was in court. "They passed a home inspection and then they locked the foster kids placed in their care in the basement." She sounded just as passionate as she would if she were in front of a jury.

Judge Turner held up a hand to stop Casey. "You're not in court. You're not here as a prosecutor, Casey. You're here as a parent. Allison's foster parents aren't on trial here. If you want me to consider your request, you are."


	7. Delusional

Chapter Seven: Delusional

So far it had been the worst day ever and it wasn't even over yet.

Casey was taken off a case and not just any case – her daughter's case...the same daughter who hated her. And then to add insult to injury, the case was reassigned to Alex – a woman who didn't bother to hide her contempt for Casey. The DA had given Casey a dressing down. And now Casey was in Judge Turner's office being grilled like a hostile witness.

Judge Turner must have asked her a hundred questions, each more invasive than the last. They covered her childhood, her relationship with her family, her friends, her ex-boyfriends and subsequent break-ups. If anyone else had asked her those questions, Casey would have told them it was none of their damn business.

The judge studied Casey. "We're talking about a kid who has a history of antisocial behavior. Fighting. Truancy. Running away. You think you can keep her out of trouble, Casey?"

Casey inhaled. "Yes, Your Honor."

"I'm granting you temporary custody." Judge Turner held up a finger in warning. "You'll still have to pass a home inspection."

"Thank you, Your Honor," Casey said.

"Ann!" Ally said as a tall woman with long dark hair walked into her hospital room.

"Ally," Ann said, giving the girl a once-over. She frowned, seeing the bruising on Ally's neck. "What happened?"

Ally rolled her eyes. "I'm fine."

"You're not fine. You have a concussion," Olivia corrected.

Ann looked at Ally pointedly. "How did you _get_ a concussion?"

Ann liked Ally. She just knew her well enough to know Ally wouldn't say anything about what had happened unless she absolutely had to. Ally kept to herself. She didn't trust anyone.

"I don't remember," Ally told her.

"You don't remember?" Ann said slowly.

"What? I don't. You can even ask the doctor," Ally said defensively.

"Ally was attacked in Central Park last night," Olivia explained.

Ann turned to face Olivia. "Thank you. You must be Detective Benson."

"I am," Olivia said. "And this is ADA Cabot."

"I'm Ann Grauel, Ally's case worker. Thank you for calling me, Detective." Ann looked at Ally. "Why didn't _you_ call me?"

"They only called you because I asked them to. They were questioning me without a guardian or lawyer." Ally shot Olivia and Alex a look.

Ann whipped her head around to look at the detective and the ADA. "Is that true?"

"Yes." Olivia sighed. "But she's not a suspect."

"Really? Do you always threaten people who aren't suspects with jail time?" Ally said.

"That wasn't a threat. I was just explaining what will happen if you lie when you are under oath," Alex told her.

Ann frowned. "I thought she didn't remember what happened. How can she lie about it if she doesn't remember?"

"That's not what she's lying about," Alex clarified.

"We found her foster brother and sister locked in the basement of their group home. Her foster sister told us that their foster father hit Evan, but Evan is saying he got in a fight with a kid from school and Ally…well, she's not saying anything," Olivia explained.

"You removed them from their home without contacting my office," Ann said, realizing what had happened.

"Maybe you didn't hear me. They were locked in a basement," Olivia said, raising her voice.

Ann frowned. "Where are Evan and Sofia now?"

"They're at the police station," Ally answered before Olivia could. "And you might want to go get them before Evan does something stupid. You know how much he likes cops."

Ann put a hand on Ally's leg. "Will you be okay here while I go pick them up?"

Ally nodded. "I'll be fine."

"I'll be back soon," Ann promised.

Casey saw Sophie as she was leaving the courthouse. "Hey Sophie, you got a minute?" Casey called.

Sophie turned to face Casey. "That depends. What do you want?"

"I want to hire you," Casey told her, falling into step beside the defense attorney.

"Why? Did you lie to a judge again, Casey?" Sophie said, smirking slightly.

Casey shot her a look. "No. My kid is seriously considering it though. She's already lied to the detectives and ADA Alexandra Cabot."

Sophie stopped walking. "Your kid?"

"That's what I said," Casey said shortly, hoping she would leave it at that.

No such luck.

Sophie raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know you had children."

"I didn't. She's in foster care. As of five minutes ago, I'm her legal guardian," Casey said, knowing that she would have to tell Sophie that much if nothing else.

Sophie nodded in understanding. "She's your foster daughter."

"She's my biological daughter," Casey corrected, not offering any other information.

Sophie studied Casey. "What'd she do?"

Casey let out a breath. "Nothing yet. The detectives found her foster brother and sister locked in the basement of their group home. The foster brother had a black eye. The foster sister said the foster parents hit him, but the foster brother and Ally – that's her name - are lying about what happened. She needs a lawyer – and not a public defender."

"How old are the kids?" Sophie asked.

"Ally's fifteen. Evan's thirteen and Sofia's four," Casey answered.

Sophie looked at Casey in disbelief. "And you believe the four year old over the older children? Casey, four year olds aren't reliable witnesses."

"Trust me, Ally's lying," Casey said, sounding absolutely certain.

"Let's let a psychiatrist be the judge of that," Sophie said.

"Does that mean you'll take the case?" Casey sounded hopeful.

Sophie nodded.

"Thanks. She's in the hospital with Olivia and Alex now. Come on." Casey led the way out of the courthouse.

"A shrink?" Ally stared at Casey in disbelief. Casey was back – with Sophie and George.

"A psychiatrist, Ally," Sophie corrected gently. "And it was my idea. Not Casey's."

"I don't want a lawyer that thinks I'm crazy. You're fired," Ally told her.

"You can't fire me. You're fifteen and your mother retained me," Sophie told her.

"My mother?" Ally scoffed. "She didn't tell you? She's not my parent – not legally, right, Casey?" Ally looked at Casey pointedly as she threw her words back at her.

"Actually I am," Casey said.

Ally rolled her eyes. "Now you're delusional. If anyone needs a shrink, it's you."

"I talked to a judge. I'm your legal guardian." Casey watched Ally carefully to see how she would react.

Ally didn't know how to act or what to think. Growing up in foster care, she'd always known that her parents gave her up when she was born. Now she knew Casey gave her up without telling Charlie. Ally had always wanted a family. She knew now that she could have had a family. Charlie's parents would have taken her in, but no, she'd been alone for fifteen years thanks to Casey. Ally was so angry. She couldn't just forgive Casey and play house with her, not after fifteen years of resenting her. She couldn't deal with it. It was just too much.

"You can't do that." Ally glanced at Ann. "Can she?"

"Can I see your guardianship papers?" Ann asked.

Casey nodded, giving Ann the papers signed by Judge Turner.

Ann let go of Sofia's hand so she could take the papers. She read them, frowning slightly. "A judge granted her temporary custody."

"She gave me up when I was born," Ally said, in case they'd all forgotten that. "What kind of an idiot would give her custody now?"

Ann sighed. "Ally…"

Ally glared at Casey. "How could you do this? You knew I wanted to get emancipated."

"That was never gonna happen." Casey sounded somewhat condescending.

"How do you know?" Ally demanded.

"The judge told me this morning when she signed the guardianship papers," Casey said.


	8. Distraction

Chapter Eight: Distraction

George stepped into the hallway, closing the door to Ally's hospital room behind him. Ally had agreed to talk to him – albeit grudgingly. Olivia, Alex, Casey and Sophie were all waiting in the hallway.

"I don't see any reason why she can't testify," George told them.

"She talked to you?" Casey sounded surprised.

"Don't sound so surprised," George said, sounding offended. "Ally has seen psychiatrists before. Casey, she doesn't want you to think she's crazy. Your opinion is important to her."

Casey looked at George as if he'd sprouted a second head. "My opinion is important to her? She hates me."

George smiled. "She doesn't hate you. She blames you for everything that's gone wrong in her life, but she doesn't hate you."

"Well, that makes me feel better," Casey said sarcastically.

"It should. She's afraid you'll reject her," George told her.

"She's pushing Casey away before Casey can walk away from her," Olivia realized.

George nodded. "She's testing you."

"I guess I'm failing," Casey muttered.

Olivia put a comforting hand on Casey's shoulder. "You get a B for effort."

"She's going to keep testing you until she's confident you're not going to abandon her," George warned.

Casey threw her hands up in the air, frustrated. "I asked a judge to give me custody. If that didn't convince her, I don't know what will."

"She's had foster parents who were her legal guardians abandon her in the past," George pointed out.

"All seven of them," Casey muttered.

"Exactly," George said. "In situations where most children would be punished for misbehaving, Ally's foster parents would abandon her. She's been emotionally abused and neglected."

"What about physical abuse?" Alex asked.

"She didn't say," George answered.

"Why not?" Alex asked bluntly.

"All of the psychiatrists she's seen have worked for ACS. Their reports are in her case file for anyone to see. She won't tell me anything she doesn't want the whole world to know," George explained.

"She doesn't trust you," Alex said.

George shook his head. "No. It will be difficult for anyone to earn her trust. She hasn't had anyone in her life that she trusts completely."

"We need her to tell us what happened in the group home," Olivia told him.

"That's unlikely," George said. "It will take time to break through her walls."

Casey nodded. "It's a marathon, not a sprint."

"We don't _have_ time. We need to charge the foster parents. We need her testimony to corroborate Sofia's statement to the police," Alex said.

"Doesn't she want her foster parents to pay for what they did?" Olivia asked.

"That's not important to her," George said dismissively.

Alex looked frustrated. "Okay, fine. George, I need you to talk to Sofia. I need to know if she's swearable."

George nodded. "Where is she?"

"Evan and Sofia are in the cafeteria with their case worker getting lunch," Olivia replied. "Come on, I'll show you."

* * *

Evan walked out of Ally's hospital room. "I'm ready to tell you what really happened now."

Olivia, Alex and Casey were all waiting anxiously in the hallway for George's verdict. He was talking to Sofia in the cafeteria.

Alex looked at Evan suspiciously. "You are?"

"Yeah. Just- can we go somewhere else?" Evan glanced at the door to Ally's hospital room. "I don't want Ally to know I told you."

"Sure. Why don't we go sit down in the waiting room?" Olivia suggested. She started walking in that direction and Alex went with her, but Casey stayed put.

Evan looked over his shoulder at Casey. "Aren't you coming?"

Casey raised her eyebrows and looked at him kind of funny. "No, I wasn't going to," Casey said slowly.

Casey had to admit she was curious, but not curious enough to get fired over it. She was off the case. She didn't think Alex – or Jack McCoy for that matter – would appreciate her being there when they interviewed Evan. The only reason she was still there was for Ally.

"You have to. I'm only saying this once so everyone needs to be there," Evan said.

Alex looked at him incredulously. "You do realize you're going to have to testify in front of a jury?"

"Alex," Olivia said in a warning tone, not wanting her to scare him off when he was about to tell them something.

Alex sighed. "Fine." She looked at Casey pointedly. "Come on."

They walked to the waiting room in awkward silence. Olivia and Alex sat down so they were facing Evan and Casey stood off to the side.

"Can I have a soda?" Evan asked, stalling.

"I'll get you something." Olivia stood and walked over to the vending machines. She put a dollar in and pressed the button for Sprite. She gave Evan the can. "Here you go."

"Thanks," Evan said.

Olivia sat back down and looked at Evan. "How'd you get that black eye?"

"I don't remember. I think I have a concussion, too," Evan said.

"I think you have selective amnesia," Olivia told him.

"Selective amnesia." Evan laughed. "I like that."

"I don't," Olivia told him. "Evan, you said you wanted to talk to us."

"Well, I changed my mind," Evan said nonchalantly.

"He's not going to tell us anything. He's wasting our time." Alex stood up.

Evan _was_ wasting their time, but why? Casey thought it was weird that he wanted her there. He didn't like her - and the feeling was mutual. It was almost like he wanted to get them away from Ally's hospital room. Ally…

"Ally," Casey said suddenly, a sinking feeling in her stomach. "This was just a distraction."

Casey turned and ran down the hallway to Ally's room. She couldn't say she was surprised that Ally wasn't there.

Casey spun around and grabbed Evan's shoulders. "Where is she?"

"Casey! Let him go, Casey," Olivia said.

Casey let go of his shoulders, her hands curling into fists at her sides. "Where is she?"

Evan moved closer to Olivia, a smug smile on his face. "I don't know."

"We'll find her, Casey," Olivia said, trying to sound reassuring.

"It's only been ten minutes. How far could she have gone?" Alex pointed out.

Ally thought she'd been pretty clever. She slipped out of the hospital without anyone seeing her.

As angry as she was that the cops had gone through her things in order to pack a bag for her, she was glad she had the duffel bag now. She traded the hospital gown for a dark blue tank top and a pair of grey Capri pants.

Ally hurried to the subway. She knew Evan could only buy her a short window of time to disappear.

Everything was so messed up. She was going to get emancipated and now instead her biological mother, who she had just met, was her legal guardian. She could see the irony of the situation.

She'd always wanted a family, but she didn't see the woman who had given her up as family. Casey wasn't her mom. Casey was just the woman Ally had spent her whole life hating. Ally didn't even know if she hated Casey anymore. That's what was so confusing. She felt things she hadn't felt in a long time like hope – and that scared her. Whenever she got her hopes up, she was only disappointed in the end.

"Can you think of anywhere she would go? Any friends she would go to?" Olivia asked.

"She's been moved around quite a bit. She doesn't have very many friends that she's stayed in touch with. She's been in the group home with Evan for a year now. If she did trust anyone with her plans, it would be him," Ann said.

"Evan knows where she is. Why aren't you questioning him?" Casey demanded.

"We did," Elliot said, shooting Casey a look. "He didn't tell us anything."

Ann shook her head. "No, he won't. Those two are as thick as thieves."

They all looked at Evan. He was sitting with Sofia. He kept looking at the clock, like he had somewhere else to be.

Olivia sighed. "We know she got on the subway."

They knew that much from tapes from cameras on the street. They just didn't know where she was going. It would take Munch and Fin hours to go through footage of all the stops. Ally could be anywhere.

"That's all we know. It's been an hour. We're never going to find her," Casey said, upset.

"We'll find her," Elliot told her. "We have done this before."

Evan walked over to them. "I have to go to the bathroom."

"Who's stopping you?" Elliot said.

Evan looked like he couldn't believe his luck. He left quickly – before they could change their minds. He didn't think they'd let him out of their sight. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure no one was following him. No one was.

Casey stared at Elliot incredulously. "You're just letting him leave?"

"Relax. Munch and Fin are downstairs in a sedan. They'll follow him," Elliot told her.

"He's gonna lead us right to her," Olivia said.

Munch and Fin followed Evan into Harlem. Looking at the street they were on, it was hard to tell the neighborhood was going through gentrification. There were bars on the windows of every neighborhood shop and there was gang graffiti on the rundown buildings. Evan walked past three older teenage boys wearing red hats as a declaration of their membership in a street gang and stopped at an outdoor basketball court.

"There she is," Fin said, nodding at a blonde teenager as Munch parked along the curb.

Munch raised his eyebrows. "Playing basketball?"

"She's not playing for recreational purposes. They're playing for money," Fin said knowingly.

Ally was so into the game that she didn't even notice the growing crowd that now included Munch, Fin, Elliot, Olivia and Casey. Evan did and tried to make a break for it.

"Not so fast," Elliot said, stopping him. "How'd you know she'd come here?"

"She needs money," Evan said somewhat sheepishly.

"For what?" Olivia said.

Evan shrugged.

Ally got an elbow in the face for her efforts to block her opponent's shot. He was taller than her by at least a foot.

Ally winced in pain and brought her hands to her head. She already had a horrible headache and that certainly hadn't helped. While she was rubbing her head, her opponent made a two-pointer.

"Ouch," Olivia said sympathetically. She glanced at Casey. "Should we stop this?"

Ally had the ball then and was moving up the court, her eyes on the ball she was dribbling. She was moving slower than normal, but she was still quick on her feet. She pivoted and made a three-pointer and then turned around to face her opponent, grinning.

"I win!" Ally sounded gleeful.

"She's your kid all right," Elliot muttered to Casey. He was the only one there who had seen Casey in action at their softball games. She was definitely not a good sport.

Ally's opponent reached into his back pocket and a wad of cash out. He shoved it into Ally's hand grudgingly.

"I didn't think he'd pay up," Olivia said. "What could she do? He's twice her size."

"You can't back out on a bet," Evan said, as if the very idea was crazy. To him, it was.

That gave Casey an idea. She picked the basketball up and dribbled experimentally.

Softball was her favorite sport, but she'd played just about every sport out there when she was growing up. Casey liked sports.

Ally had finally noticed the cops and Casey.

"You told them where I was?" Ally looked at Evan in disbelief.

"I didn't tell them, Ally. I swear," Evan said.

"He didn't," Olivia confirmed.

"How'd you find me?" Ally asked.

"We've been doing this for a long time," Elliot told her.

Ally looked at Casey. "Why can't you just let me go? You did it once. It shouldn't be that hard to do it again."

Casey held the basketball up. "I'll play you for it."

Ally frowned in confusion. "What?"

"I win, you come with me. No more running away. You win, you can go," Casey said simply.


	9. Deal

**A/N: Thank you for your reviews! I really do appreciate them. This chapter is almost all Casey/Ally. I heard what you said about them bonding. Ally's not at that point yet. She's a teenager and she's hurt and angry. Just a warning that it will be up and down for Casey and Ally. That said, this chapter has some good moments between them. Enjoy!**

Chapter Nine: Deal

Ally looked like she didn't know whether she could believe Casey. "You'll let me go? You won't have the cops out looking for me?"

"Yeah. Do we have a deal?" Casey asked.

Ally looked at Casey, sizing her up. Casey was tall with an athletic build. She might have looked like a formidable opponent if she wasn't wearing a skirt suit.

"Okay," Ally agreed finally.

"Casey, can I talk to you for a second?" Elliot pulled Casey aside, frowning slightly. "What was that?"

"I don't know. I guess that was parenting," Casey said.

"That's not parenting. Parenting isn't a negotiation. You're the parent. She should go with you because you're the parent, not because of a basketball game," Elliot told her.

"Look, I can drag her ass back kicking and screaming, but that's not gonna stop her from leaving again," Casey pointed out.

"And this is?" Elliot sounded skeptical.

Casey shrugged. "I hope so. I can't watch her every minute of every day."

"And if you lose? What then?" Elliot asked.

Casey looked at him, pretending to be hurt. "You think I'm going to lose?"

"I think she's fifteen and you're in your thirties." Elliot sounded amused.

"Come on, Elliot. We just watched her play. She's good - I'll give her that. But she's shorter than I am. She won't be able to block my shots. She just played so she's tired. And she has a concussion," Casey said, feeling pretty confident. "If I can beat her at her own game, I won't have to fit her with an ankle bracelet."

Elliot shook his head. "I don't like this."

"You don't have to. She's my kid," Casey told him.

* * *

"What's wrong with this court?" Ally asked, looking at the court.

"I'm not really dressed for this," Casey pointed out.

"So we're going shopping?" Ally said slowly.

Casey shot her a pointed look. "I have work out clothes. We're going to my gym."

"Casey. Hey. You're here early today," the guy at the front desk of the gym said as Casey checked in.

"I need a day pass for her." Casey looked at Ally as she handed her credit card over.

"He knows your name." Ally seemed somewhat surprised.

"He should. I come here every day," Casey said, enjoying Ally's reaction.

"You do?" Ally was starting to wonder what she'd gotten herself into.

Casey glanced back at Ally, a grin on her face, as they headed back to the locker room. "What's wrong? Scared?"

"Of what? You? No," Ally scoffed.

"Okay." Casey sounded amused. "What do you say we raise the stakes?"

"There's nothing else I want from you," Ally said.

Casey raised her eyebrows. "No? You're not the least bit curious about your dad and me?"

"I – what?" Ally said, taken aback. She was curious about where she came from.

"For every point you score, you can ask a question and I'll answer it," Casey told her.

Ally swallowed. "And for every point you score…"

"I ask you a question and you answer. The whole truth and nothing but the truth," Casey said.

Casey knew this was the only way her daughter would talk to her. She had tried talking to Ally on the way to the gym. Ally had only participated in the conversation when she absolutely had to. And even then, she managed to go the entire cab ride using only four words - yes, no, fine, and her favorite, whatever.

Ally hesitated. "Nothing about my foster parents or the group home."

"So you can ask me anything you want, but there are topics that are off limits when it's my turn? That's not fair." Casey shook her head.

"Assistant District Attorney Cabot already thinks I'm lying. If I tell you about my foster parents, she'll know I'm lying. I could go to jail," Ally pointed out.

Casey's expression softened. "Anything you say to me is off the record."

"Okay," Ally agreed reluctantly.

Casey put her purse in her locker and glanced at Ally. "You can put your bag in my locker."

"No," Ally said quickly. "That's okay."

Ally set her bag down at the end of the basketball court behind the basket and picked up the basketball.

"Make it take it to eleven. Win by two," Ally explained the rules.

Casey nodded. "Okay."

Ally dribbled the ball and Casey darted forward, quick as a snake, snatching the ball before Ally knew what was happening. Ally widened her eyes in shock. She may have underestimated Casey.

Casey wanted to laugh at the look of shock on her daughter's face. She moved up the court quickly. Ally was moving slower than normal and didn't make it in time to block her shot.

Two points. Ally had definitely underestimated Casey. The skirt suit was misleading.

"What are your questions?" Ally asked nervously.

"Oh, there will be plenty of time for that after I kick your ass," Casey told her.

Now that she knew Casey could give her a run for her money, Ally stuck to her like glue. Ally tried to block Casey's lay-up, but she was at a disadvantage because of her height. She was only five-five and Casey was five-ten. The score was now three to zero and Casey still had the ball.

Ally only managed to block Casey's next shot by shoulder-ramming her. She was used to playing on the streets where everyone played dirty.

"That's a foul." Casey glared at her.

Ally shrugged. "There's no ref."

Ally made a three-pointer, tying it up.

Ally took the lead with a second three-pointer and looked back at Casey, feeling more confident about her chances. "What was that about kicking my ass again?"

Casey was silent. At that point, she was worried she would lose.

"That's what I thought. Not so cocky now." Ally grinned cheekily.

"I'm not cocky," Casey said. "I just know my strengths."

Ally raised her eyebrows. "And basketball is one of these supposed strengths?"

"Yes. It is," Casey said as she stole the ball.

It was a close game right until the end. Ally was a better shot, but that didn't matter because she couldn't block any of Casey's shots – not without playing dirty anyway. Casey wasn't going to foul her daughter even though Ally didn't seem to have any problem with fouling her.

And then Ally just completely fell apart at the end. She was tired. She had been playing longer than Casey had and she had a concussion. She couldn't keep up with Casey.

Casey won eleven to eight.

After she made the final basket, Casey watched Ally carefully to gauge her reaction. Ally stared at the ball as it went through the hoop and bounced on the court. She couldn't believe she'd lost. The look on her face was so pitiful that Casey almost felt bad for her…almost.

Ally sighed and walked over to pick her duffel bag up.

Casey stepped in front of her, arms crossed. "I know you're not thinking about running. We had a deal."

Ally shook her head. "No." She sounded resigned. She looked at Casey warily. "So what now? Are we going to your house?"

"It's _our_ house now," Casey said with a triumphant look on her face. "And actually it's an apartment. But no. You were never discharged from the hospital and I'm just guessing you weren't supposed to be out playing contact sports when you have a concussion."

"Basketball isn't really a contact sport," Ally muttered.

"It is the way you play," Casey pointed out.

Ally looked sheepish. "Sorry about that."

Casey shrugged. "It's okay. You come by it honestly."

Ally raised her eyebrows. "You're saying it comes from you?"

"Who won?" Casey said pointedly.

"I have a concussion!" Ally said. "I want a rematch."

Casey smiled. "I'll play you again."

"Same deal?" Ally sounded hopeful.

"Not a chance in hell," Casey told her.

"'Cause you know you'll lose," Ally said tauntingly.

Casey nodded. "You're good. And it's not worth it. That was a one-time offer." She won. Why would she make a deal and risk losing Ally? She wouldn't. No way.

* * *

**The next chapter will be the question and answer session portion of the bet. I wasn't going to separate it from this chapter, but this chapter would have been really long if I didn't.**


	10. Questions: Part One

**A/N: As always I appreciate your reviews. It really helps me tweak the story and decide which ideas to use because I have a lot of ideas. This chapter is all Casey/Ally. Just to warn you there is mention of physical abuse, but it's not graphic or descriptive. I hope you like it.**

Chapter Ten: Questions: Part One

Everything had changed in the matter of a day. Casey never thought she'd meet her daughter so it was a bit of a shock when a fifteen year old girl with her eyes showed up in her office out of the blue. Now here she was a day later with legal custody of the daughter who didn't want to be there.

Casey unlocked the door to her one bedroom apartment. She hadn't had a chance to talk to her landlord about moving into a two bedroom yet. She hadn't had time to do much of anything - including clean.

Ally followed Casey into a decent sized living room - by New York standards. She had comfortable couch with some turquoise colored pillows on it facing the TV. It was exactly how Casey had left it the morning Ally showed up in her office, with an empty coffee cup on the coffee table.

"This is it," Casey said, waiting for Ally to say something. Knowing her, it wouldn't be anything positive.

"I'm tired. Where am I sleeping?" Ally said, looking around.

"You can lay down in my room," Casey told her.

"Your room?" Ally looked at Casey. "You have a one bedroom apartment."

"I'd give you the grand tour, but there's not much to see," Casey said.

"The judge must be a really good friend of yours," Ally said knowingly. She'd slept in worse places but her case worker usually made sure she had her own bed.

"This is just until we can move into a two bedroom," Casey told her.

"The couch is fine," Ally said coldly. She set her duffel bag down by the couch. "Do you have any Tylenol?"

Casey nodded. "Yeah. I'll get it for you."

Ally took two Tylenol and lay down on the couch. She really was tired – exhausted actually. She fell asleep right away and didn't wake up until it was dark outside.

Casey looked up from the case file she was working on at the kitchen table when Ally sat up. "How do you feel?"

"Not good," Ally said shortly.

Apparently the nap hadn't done anything for her mood.

Casey looked at the kitchen clock. "It's been four hours. Do you want more Tylenol?"

"Yes," Ally said quickly.

"I was going to order something for dinner. Do you feel like Chinese or pizza?" Casey asked as she got Ally two more Tylenol.

Ally shrugged. "Whatever you want is fine."

Casey ordered a pizza. They waited for the delivery guy in awkward silence. When he got there, Casey paid him and put the large box on the kitchen counter. She took two plates out of the kitchen cabinet.

Casey opened a bottle of beer for herself and looked over her shoulder at Ally. "Do you want anything to drink?"

Ally looked at Casey. "Do you have Coke?"

Casey handed Ally a can of Coke. They each put a slice of pizza on their plate and moved over to the table. Casey closed the case file she'd been working on and moved it out of the way.

Casey took a sip of beer. Liquid courage. She knew her daughter hadn't had the idyllic childhood she had imagined when she gave her up. She needed to know what had happened to her daughter to make her so angry and hurt, but she didn't know if she could handle the ugly truth. Whatever happened, it happened because Casey gave her daughter up. It was Casey's decision and her daughter had paid for it for the last fifteen years. Just how dearly had Ally paid…well, Casey was about to find out.

Casey steeled herself. "Let's get this question and answer session started. You owe me answers to eleven questions."

Ally's face fell.

Casey smiled. "You thought I'd forget?"

Ally shifted uncomfortably. "I didn't know an interrogation was dinnertime conversation. What's next? A torture session with dessert?"

Casey glanced at Ally. "You can save the sarcasm for later. For now all I want are answers without your editorializing. First question…what happened in the group home?"

"I lived there for a year," Ally said slowly, stalling. "You're going to have to be more specific."

"What did your foster parents do to you? How did Evan get a black eye?" Casey elaborated.

"That's two questions," Ally pointed out, not wanting to answer any more questions than she absolutely had to.

"If that's how you want to play it," Casey said nonchalantly. "Just remember – you only get eight questions." She looked at Ally pointedly.

"Fine. It's one question." Ally only gave in so easily because she had a lot of questions she'd like to ask Casey. "They locked us in the basement when they wanted us out of their hair, which was pretty often. Mr. Woodcock hit Evan."

"Why'd he hit him?" Casey asked, the look on her face unreadable.

"Because Evan was protecting me," Ally said guiltily.

Casey took a deep breath, struggling to keep the growing anger out of her voice. She was angry with Ally's foster parents, but she was also angry with herself for unwittingly putting her daughter in that situation. "Your foster father was going to hit you?"

Ally nodded slowly.

Casey wished she could say she was surprised, but she wasn't. "Why?" She asked sadly.

"Sofia was always getting in trouble. That time it was for crying. They punished her by locking her in the basement without any dinner. I got her out and made her a sandwich after they went to bed. I was going to make sure she was back in the basement before they woke up, but I overslept. I wasn't supposed to let her out. Evan took the blame for it. He said he was the one who let her out," Ally said in a matter of fact tone, as if that kind of thing happened every day.

Casey looked at Ally. "Why are you protecting your foster parents? Why won't you tell the truth in court?"

"Why would I?" Ally said harshly. "When I was seven and my foster father threw me down a flight of stairs, he told my case worker that the bruises were from soccer. I didn't even play soccer. I told what really happened and no one believed me. Not my teachers or my case worker. I was just a fucked up foster kid and everyone thought my foster parents were good Samaritans for dealing with me."

"This isn't like that," Casey assured her.

"Even if it's not, what will telling the truth do? It won't change anything," Ally pointed out.

"They deserve to pay for what they did to you," Casey said passionately.

"It won't change what happened. It already happened. It's the past," Ally said.

"It was yesterday," Casey said pointedly.

"I want to move on and I can't do that if I'm talking about it constantly." Ally sounded somewhat exasperated.

Casey could kind of understand that. Trials weren't easy for victims. But that didn't mean she agreed with Ally. She wanted her daughter's foster parents to pay. That was an argument for another day though. She still had nine questions.

"How many others have abused you?" Casey asked.

"That depends on your definition of abuse," Ally said. She sighed, knowing Casey wouldn't let her get away with not answering the question even though answering it was the last thing she wanted to do. "I've had a total of three placements where my foster parents never touched me."

Casey had just confirmed that there were years of physical abuse. She wanted to know what else had happened to her daughter in the foster care system. She thought of some of the foster parents she'd prosecuted and knew what she had to ask.

"Did anyone ever…" Casey broke off. "Did any of your foster parents rape you?" She asked hesitantly, almost as if she didn't want to know the answer. She didn't – not if the answer was yes. She didn't know if she could live with herself if it was.

"No." Ally paled slightly. "None of my foster parents ever raped me," Ally said carefully.

Casey let out a breath she didn't even realize she was holding. "Were there any foster homes you liked?"

Ally nodded. "There was one. The dad…he was nice to me. He was a big sports fan. We bonded over that. His daughter – his real daughter – was definitely not athletic. He had season tickets for the Knicks. He took me a few times."

That sounded a lot like Casey's relationship with her dad. She picked up on the subtle hint of bitterness in Ally's voice when she mentioned their real daughter though and knew there was more to the story. She frowned. "Why didn't you stay there?"

"I didn't exactly have a choice," Ally said bitterly.

Casey shot her an exasperated look. "That's not an answer."

"Is the interrogation almost over?" Ally had lost count of how many questions Casey had asked, but she _really_ didn't want to answer this question. She thought she might prefer torture at this point.

"Not even close. I have five questions left," Casey told her.

"I think your math's off. Do you need a calculator for basic addition?" Ally said cheekily.

"My math's just fine," Casey told her.

"What was the question again?" Ally asked, hoping that by some miracle Casey had forgotten.

Casey raised her eyebrows. "Why didn't you stay there?"

"They – well, the mom - was afraid I'd hurt their daughter," Ally said slowly.

"Why?" Casey asked, feeling uneasy all of a sudden. She knew better than anyone that kids could be violent. She'd prosecuted children who had raped and murdered – and most of them had bad childhoods, not unlike Ally.

"I punched her," Ally admitted, her eyes on Casey, waiting for a reaction.

"Why?" Casey said evenly.

"She said something I didn't like," Ally said flatly.

"What could she possibly have said that justified punching her?" Casey sounded incredulous.

Ally took a deep breath. "I actually thought her parents were going to adopt me. I called them Mom and Dad for the first time." She glanced down at the slice of pizza she'd barely touched, looking anywhere but at Casey. "Their daughter said they weren't my parents and I was only there because they felt sorry for me. She said she felt sorry for me, too, because my own parents didn't want me and that no one loved me, not even my own parents. And she was right."

"No, she wasn't," Casey said slowly, anger in her voice. She probably would have hit the kid too, if she'd been in Ally's shoes. She sounded like a spoiled brat.

"Yes, she was," Ally said quietly. She looked up at Casey, pain in her eyes. "Not one person in fifteen years has wanted me, including you."

Casey crossed her arms, a defensive posture. "Do you hate me?"

"Yes," Ally said immediately. "No." She sighed. "I don't know."

It was better than Casey expected. Ally didn't know if she hated her. Maybe Casey could change her mind. She could be pretty persuasive. She was a lawyer, after all.

Casey looked Ally in the eyes. "Are you going to run away again?"

"I'm not planning on it." It wasn't really a no, but it was the best Ally could do.

"That makes me feel a lot better," Casey muttered.

"Sorry," Ally said, sounding anything but.

"Why _did_ you run?" Casey could guess and she probably would have been right, but she wanted to know exactly what Ally was thinking when she ran.

"I'm tired of incompetent adults making decisions for me. I'm the one that has to live with their decisions. My whole life no one has cared what I want. You're no different. You knew I wanted to get emancipated and you talked to a judge and now all of a sudden you're my legal guardian," Ally said bitterly. She sighed. "I just wanted to be in control of my own life. I was trying to play by the rules. I don't know why I even bothered. I did everything I was supposed to do and it didn't matter because you're friends with the judge. I don't care what a stupid piece of paper says. If I couldn't get emancipated, I was going to do it my way."

Casey nodded. "By running away. Where were you going to go?"

Ally shrugged. "I don't know. I was going to get a bus ticket and leave town. Go anywhere but here."

"That's a great plan. It sounds like you've given it a lot of thought," Casey said sarcastically.

Ally rolled her eyes. "I didn't have a lot of time to come up with a great master plan. I never in a million years would have imagined that some brainless wonder with a gavel would make you my legal guardian."

Casey narrowed her eyes. "What were you going to do when you got to this to be determined city and state? You wouldn't know anyone." She held up her hands. "Don't answer that. I only have one more question. I'm going to use it wisely."

"Before you ask it, you might want to remember that it's your turn to answer my questions next," Ally reminded her.

Casey nodded. "I'm sorry," Casey said softly. "I had no idea you wouldn't be adopted. Can you ever forgive me?"

"I honestly don't know," Ally said.

Casey swallowed. She didn't know how she was supposed to feel after the answers Ally had given her. She was sad that Ally had a bad childhood – if you could even call it that. She was angry with the foster parents that had hurt Ally. She wanted them to pay. But the person she was most angry with was herself. She felt like the scum of the earth.

* * *

**Next chapter it's Casey's turn to answer Ally's questions.**


	11. Questions: Part Two

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews! There will definitely be more of the Bakers and more Elliot/Ally interaction in the future. Here's the next chapter. Enjoy.**

Chapter Eleven: Questions: Part Two

Casey took a sip of beer and braced herself for her turn in the hot seat. She didn't know what Ally would want to know, but she knew enough to know her questions wouldn't be easy to answer. If her daughter didn't hate her now, she might after she got answers to her eight questions.

Until recently, Ally didn't know anything about her parents. She didn't even know their names. She only knew one thing her whole life – her parents gave her up when she was born. She'd often wondered why they didn't want her. She imagined her mother as a stupid teenager who got knocked up on prom night or a crack whore who didn't know who the father was, but never as an attorney. Now Ally knew exactly who her mother was. She wanted to know how someone with Casey's education and job could just give her baby away, but she was afraid she wouldn't like the answer.

Instead of asking what she really wanted to know, Ally blurted out the first question that came to mind. "Were you really going to let me go if I won?"

"I didn't plan on losing," Casey said, honestly not knowing what she would have done if Ally had won.

Ally looked unimpressed. "I didn't ask if you planned on losing. I asked what you would have done if I won."

Casey knew it was a trick question. If she said no, she was admitting that she wouldn't have honored the deal. And if she said yes…well, she would have been letting Ally go – _again_, only this time she would have known that her daughter had no one and nowhere to go. There was no good answer. "I don't _know_ what I would have done if you had won. I never would have made that deal if I thought that was a possibility," Casey said, avoiding the question.

"I'm sorry. That's not one of the answer choices. It's a simple yes or no question," Ally said, sounding somewhat condescending.

"So was my last question," Casey pointed out. "So unless you want to give me a yes or no answer, that's my final answer."

"Fine," Ally said grudgingly. "What did you have to do to get the judge to make you my legal guardian anyway?"

"I asked," Casey said simply. "Then she grilled me like a hostile witness."

Ally looked almost disappointed. "That's all?"

Casey shot her a look. "Sorry to disappoint you. She didn't make me beg. There was no trial by fire."

"You said she told you she wasn't going to sign off on my petition for emancipation." Ally looked at Casey questioningly. She didn't know how the judge could know whether she was capable of taking care of herself when the judge had never even met her.

"She wasn't," Casey said in a matter of fact tone.

"Why not?" Ally asked.

"Besides the fact that you're fifteen?" Casey said.

"Almost sixteen," Ally corrected in an annoyed tone.

"To quote the judge, you have a history of antisocial behavior," Casey said, quoting Judge Turner.

Ally stared at her. "What does that even mean?"

"It means that the judge wasn't convinced that a kid who gets in fights, skips school and runs away would stay out of trouble," Casey repeated what the judge had said pretty much verbatim. "Those are her words. Not mine."

"But she's convinced that a woman who gave her baby up and lives in a one bedroom apartment is prime mother material?" Ally shot back.

Casey cringed slightly, but managed to sound normal. "I guess so."

"Do you regret it?" Ally said, moving on to her next question suddenly and without warning.

"What? Becoming your legal guardian?" Casey looked into her daughter's eyes. "No." Her voice was firm.

"No, not becoming my legal guardian. Giving me up," Ally said impatiently, as if Casey should have been able to read her mind.

"I didn't," Casey said honestly. She had always imagined that her daughter would have a good childhood with a mom and dad that loved her – a better childhood than Casey could have given her. "Not until I found out you were never adopted."

Ally narrowed her eyes. "And now?"

"Yes, I regret it. I put you in that mess because I thought you'd be adopted. I had no idea what happened to you afterwards. I should have checked. I should have done more," Casey said guiltily.

"Did you ever consider keeping me?" Ally asked, somehow managing to sound accusatory and vulnerable at the same time.

"Yes." Casey paused. When the doctor told her she was pregnant, Casey didn't know what she was going to do. She thought about keeping the baby. She would have, too - if she thought Charlie would be any help whatsoever. After she realized she was pregnant, Casey gave him an ultimatum – take his medication or leave. It was a hail Mary. He left. "I told you that Charlie attacked me when he was off his medication?"

Ally nodded. "Yeah."

"The next week I found out I was pregnant," Casey continued.

"You're not exactly the poster child for planned pregnancy," Ally muttered.

"Condoms don't work one hundred percent of the time," Casey said defensively. They _did_ use a condom. The pregnancy wasn't planned. Even if Charlie hadn't been sick, it was horrible timing. Casey was young. She was in her early twenties. She had just graduated from law school. She was starting her first real job. Combine all of that with Charlie's schizophrenia and a baby was an unwelcome surprise.

"Well, next time you decide to date someone who's certifiably insane and has violent tendencies, you might want to go on the pill," Ally said slowly, her voice laced with sarcasm.

Casey glared at her daughter. "I gave Charlie an ultimatum – take his medication or leave. He left." Casey couldn't do it alone. She moved to New York with Charlie. She didn't really know anyone else there. She didn't have any family there. She had no support system. She was an underpaid, overworked public servant trying to handle the rent for an apartment that she was supposed to be splitting with Charlie. She shook her head. "I couldn't do it alone and I was afraid he would hurt you."

Ally looked at Casey in surprise. "If he had agreed…"

"I would have kept you," Casey finished.

"Why didn't you tell Charlie about me? I mean, I know why you didn't tell him. But what about his parents?" Ally asked.

"Why? _Why?_" Casey laughed bitterly. The Bakers had never liked Casey and it had only gotten worse when she told them that their oldest son had schizophrenia. "It didn't matter what Charlie did or how strange he acted. His parents denied there was anything wrong with him. Denial's not just a river in Egypt, you know. They didn't believe he attacked me. They saw the bruises and cuts on my face and neck and they thought I was making it up."

Ally looked at Casey skeptically. "His dad didn't exactly seem like his biggest fan."

"Then he's done a complete one-eighty," Casey said brusquely.

"They would have taken me in," Ally said quietly.

"And you would have had a front row seat for Charlie's paranoia and delusions. Where do you think he went when I made him leave? He ran straight to mommy and daddy," Casey said.

"Did you love him?" Ally asked.

"Yes. We were engaged. We were going to be married," Casey told her.

"What was he like, you know, before he went crazy?" Ally looked at Casey curiously.

"He was brilliant and funny," Casey answered. "I met him in law school. Harvard. He was smarter than me. He could ace a test without studying. It was annoying."

"It sounds like a great, timeless romance. I can see why you said yes," Ally said sarcastically.

"We were happy together," Casey said softly. "We were in Mexico for spring break during our final year. We went scuba diving. We went for a walk on the beach after dinner and he proposed."

Ally frowned. "And then, what, he just went crazy?"

Casey nodded slowly. "He started acting strange. He became withdrawn, which was really unlike him. He was paranoid. He would disappear for days at a time and I wouldn't know where he was. It was horrible."

Ally knit her brow. She didn't understand how someone could go from Harvard Law to being homeless. "Maybe he's not crazy. Maybe that's when he started doing drugs."

"Yeah right. That's why he put you in the hospital. Because it's perfectly normal to attack someone who asks for your signature," Casey said sarcastically.

"Maybe it is for a drug addict," Ally said.

"Now you sound like his parents," Casey told her.

"Maybe they're right," Ally insisted.

"Where'd you get your medical degree?" Casey said.

Ally glared at her.

"Last question," Casey said, changing the subject.

"You didn't want me when I was born. Why do you want me now?" Ally asked, afraid that Casey didn't really want her. As angry as she was, she was more hurt and afraid than anything else. She was afraid that Casey was only doing this out of guilt.

Casey could make excuses, but she didn't want a baby fifteen years ago. She told herself it would be better for her and her daughter if she gave the baby up for adoption. It was easier for her. Not so much for Ally. "I didn't want a baby fifteen years ago," Casey admitted reluctantly.

"And now you want a brand new teenager?" Ally said sarcastically.

"At the risk of being screamed at again, you act like Charlie. Before he got sick," Casey said quickly. "I loved him. You're smart and funny and stubborn. You look just like Charlie, too. Except for your eyes. Those you got from me. I know I don't know you, but I want to change that."


End file.
